Welcome to BASE21

The headlines in the morning newspapers for April 20 were not adorned with government's hysteric denouncement of the KCTU strike led by the Seoul subway workers. The KCTU campaign, in its second day, was pushed aside by the announcement by the "owner-chief" of the second largest chaebol group Daewoo made an unscheduled announcement outlining the plan to sell off 11 companies within the group to raise the necessary funds to settle the accumulated debt.
But, the announcement of the government's plan to crackdown on the KCTU general strike was not hard to find.President Kim Dae Jung himself is reported to have stated at a State Council meeting that the strike of
the Seoul Subway Workers Union is "illegal and should never be tolerated" to set the tone of the government reaction to the KCTU general campaign.
On April 21, KCTU president Lee Kap-yong held a news conference to call on the government "to end the
repression and begin negotiation". The statement read by president Lee denounced the government for "mobilising security agencies in a labour relations situation" and doing nothing but flaming the situation by "weeping up hysteria and repression".

The Daewoo Challenge

The Daewoo chieftain's plan involves the sale of the second largest shipyard to a Japanese concern, and carving up the various divisions of the Daewoo Heavy Industry. While there is some suspicion that the
announcement - especially the plan to sell of the shipyard -- is a part of a calculated bluff against the Kim Dae Jung government, which has been, lately, making 'tough' noises about chaebol corporate restructuring, workers saw it as yet another example of tyranny of
chaebol.
The Korean Metal Workers Federation and the various Daewoo unions set to suffer the rough end of the Daewoo chairman's upping of the stake in his showdown against the government responded swiftly.
On April 20, the KMWF issued a statement calling on Kim Woo-choong, the Daewoo chairman, to step down from his position and assume the responsibility for the mess the Daewoo group is in, if he is at all serious about restoring health to the companies. This is in line with
the KCTU's view on the needed restructuring and reform of the Korean economy in response to the crisis. The statement went on the declare that "without first identifying where and on whom the responsibility for
the current state of the companies lies, the Daewoo's restructuring package will not succeed but end up repeating and enlarging the same rotten problem."
The Daewoo Shipyard Workers Union responded with an immediate strike. At 1 p.m. April 20, some 4,000 workers at the shipyard - all of the people on the day shift out of 8,000 total employees in the shipyard - went on
an indefinite strike. Following the strike order, 4,000 workers staged a rolling march sweeping through the shipyard and the nearby areas.
On April 21, the strikers at the shipyard swelled to 5,000 and were joined by other Daewoo workers. The unionists in the bus production division of the Daewoo Motors in Pusan also struck. The workers at the Daewoo Precision Industry, Daewoo Heavy Industry, and Daewoo's Hilton Hotel are likely to join in the strike in next few days.
The KMWF and Daewoo workers unions reaffirmed their position that they will oppose and resist any company plan which is not based on consultation or agreement with unions. The KMWF statement pointed out that any restructuring plan must be built on the foundation of
"employment security and right to livelihood".
The unexpected announcement by the Daewoo chieftain provided the spark needed to ignite the expected action which was long smouldering in the metal industry. The swift and resolute response of the Daewoo workers is
likely to bring forward the KMWF campaign plans and/or propel the scheduled post-May Day strike campaign with an added momentum.
Public Sector Workers Going Strong, Subway Workers Steam Ahead The "unexpected" early start by the metal industry workers energised the KCTU campaign led by the public sector workers with the Seoul subway workers at the centre.
Some 5,000 subway workers from the maintenance, engineering, and station staff division - organised into small groups - set up their camp at the Seoul National University following the public rally on the first day of
the strike. Further 1,500 workers - subway drivers - have set up their camp-out at the Myongdong Cathedral.
These actions are aimed at "staying together" in the likelihood of police being sent in to (physically) drag the workers back to work. Their sit-in struggle is also providing the focal point for solidarity rallies.

Government Steps Up Repression

Directed by the 'no messing around' pronouncement by the President, the government began to step up preparation for a massive repression and crackdown. An emergency working-level security council meeting was held on April 20 with Public Prosecutors Office, the National Intelligence Agency (former Agency for National Security Planning Agency), the Ministry of Labour and the Seoul City Government. The meeting ironed out the action plan for eventual crackdown on the KCTU general campaign. Following the meeting, the Public Prosecutors Office confirmed the warrant of arrest against 66 Seoul Subway Workers Union, including the union president Seok Chi-soon and other elected officers. The Seoul Subway Corporation went further and filed legal complaint against 260 union leaders and activists. The working-level security council meeting also gave notice that it had decided to suspend 87 subway unionists and discipline 260 others.
The Seoul Subway Corporation set 9 a.m. April 21 as the deadline for striking workers to return to work. A failure to heed the order would mean suspension and disciplinary action. The Seoul City Government went
one step further and declared that, if the strike continues, it will call for the downright dismissal of all the people who persist with the strike action.
Furthermore, the Seoul Regional Public Prosecutors Office made it know that it is seeking warrant of arrest against Yang Kyung-kyu and Kim Ho-seun the two other co-presidents of the Korean Federation of Transport, Public & Social Service Labour Unions (KPSU) which is
coordinating the first wave of the KCTU's general campaign. It explained that there was grounds to suspect that the KPSU leadership had intervened in the strike by the Seoul Subway Workers Union.
The KCTU leadership, in the numerous speeches at the rallies and planning meeting, made categorically clear that this is not a Seoul Subway Workers Union's strike, but a coordinated strike involving public sector unions, including the Seoul Subway Workers Union, as a part of
KCTU-wide general campaign. The KCTU Expanded Central Executive Committee - the headquarters of the general campaign -- declared that the KCTU will not allow the government to isolate the Seoul Subway Workers Union and its strike. It reaffirmed that strikes at different
workplaces and public rallies are not separate events, but integral and constituting part of the overall KCTU campaign and all KCTU member unions were responsible in making sure the campaign is successful through determined and united effort.

Good Humour and Rising Determination

But the continuing intransigence of the government and its attempt to turn the strike into a 'security' issue is fueling the anger of the striking workers. One subway worker camping out at the Seoul National University explained "the feeling is good. The determination is stronger because everyone knows that this is not about a little more money." And pointing to the couple of helicopters that have been circling the sky above the campus where they have their home for an indefinite time, he sounded resolute, "all this announcements of repression, the news of warrants of arrest and legal complaint against hundreds of people, all this is adding fuel to the anger."
Apart from the legal action, the government is also known to be sizing up the situation to pick the date for police action to break up the sit-in campaign and drag the workers back to work. In what is understood
to be smoke-screen and feeler tactic, some government officials have began to leak information suggesting that the night of April 21 or early morning of 22nd may be dangerous.
In response to the well-practiced government's behaviour pattern, one unionist commented that "it would be impossible for the government to send it troops at least until April 22 as the Queen Elisabeth II is in town for state visit." She went on to suggest "we should call the
British royal court to request the Queen to postpone her departure from Seoul." But she knew "what's most important is that we don't break apart. We must and will stay together until we win."

The Ever Widening Wave of Struggle

The KCTU-wide general campaign is gaining momentum day by day. The Korea Telecom Trade Union completed the strike ballot and voted by 75.6% to strike. Then, the emergency session of the Delegates Conference that
followed the ballot decided to strike on April 26. The leadership and branch officers of the union through out the country decided to step up pre-strike action in the run-up to the strike.
The unionists at the MBC, the second largest television and radio network, on April 19, completed its strike ballot.The 2,000 member-strong union voted by 94.6% to take the strike. The decision follows the strike-ballot at the Korean Broadcasting System held some time ago where the members also voted by massive majority to take strike action.
Following the completion of the strike ballot, on April 20, some 1,500 members of the two unions and broadcasting media unions staged a protest rally in front of the ruling NCNP and the opposition party, the Grand National Party.
The campaign of the broadcasting media workers is fueled by the government restructuring plan which involved massive privatisation, outsourcing, and carve up of the current broadcasting system. The media unions perceives the government plan for the media is no different from
what it has been doing in the public sector and the private sector. They have vowed to oppose and frustrate the government plan which undermines the principle of public good and seeks to introduce purely market and
profit orientation in the broadcasting system. The unions have already vowed to go into immediate strike if the government tables the "reform" bill at the National Assembly.
The KCTU-wide general campaign is set to spread to other sectors of the society. On April 22, the KCTu will hold a joint rally with urban poor peoples organisations to build a platform for common campaign for genuine reform. And on April 24, the KCTU will hold a joint rally with
farmers organisations to consolidate the link between workers and farmers who suffer from the same neo-liberal blindness. On the same day, the KCTU is organising a massive rally of unemployed people to criticise the government's unemployment-inducing policies and demand a substantial social security programme.
The solidarity rallies with other major social sectors will culminate in a nation-wide broad people's rally on April 27 as a lead up to the massive May Day rally.